Mabel-Canton meets Houston in quarterfinals

Mabel-Canton traveled to Houston on Tuesday, Oct. 23, for a Section One quarterfinal football contest, but had a hard time stopping the Hurricanes, especially late in the game. The Hurricanes only led by three at the half, but broke free with two third-period scores and four more touchdowns in the fourth on their way to a 67-28 victory.

After receiving the opening kickoff, M-C went three and out and found themselves down 12-0 before snapping the ball again. Houston enjoyed a halftime lead partly as the result of recovering one of their four onside kickoffs.

The Cougars twice got back within one touchdown (12-7 and 18-13), and with more success on extra-points trailed only 24-21 at halftime. But M-C could not keep pace in the second half as the Hurricanes scored on six straight possessions.

Cougar Noah Manning scored with a 23-yard run and a 17-yard pass reception.

Hunter Johnson rushed for 170 yards including runs of 26, 21, 40 and 19 yards. His touchdown run came from 3 yards out as did his two-point conversion run. He also kicked two extra points.

Keyser Wenthold raced 64 yards to end zone on his first (of six) carries.

Collin O'Bieglo, before leaving the game with an injury, completed six of 15 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.

Manning came on in relief and completed two of three (to Johnson) for 15 yards.

Donnie Lind had four receptions for 59 yards.

With 23 plays going for double-digit yardage, Houston outgained M-C 689 yards to 274. The 'Canes rushed for 395, and Christian Sires completed 20 of 28 passes for 294 yards. Jake Englund caught 12 passes for 132 yards, including a 17-yard TD. He also had touchdown runs of 13 and three yards. Tyler Hoskins had five catches for 129 yards including TD tosses covering 50 and 52 yards. Dylan Lee scored on a 14-yard run and with a 23-yard pass. Chase Krenzke scored with his only handoff, going 46 yards. Riley Horihan had a 34-yard scoring run.

Overall, the Cougars forced the 'Canes to punt only once as Houston averaged 9.7 yards per play and converted nine of 11 third-down plays.

The defensive highlights were two athletic leaping interceptions. First, Wenthold picked off a Hurricane pass at the Cougar three-yard-line. Then, right before halftime, Johnson out-jumped Horihan to nab a long pass at the Cougar 17. Both Mason Henry and Mac Nelson had quarterback sacks.

M-C had three turnovers with one interception and two lost fumbles, one ending a 50-yard drive at the Houston 16.

The fifth-seeded Cougars ended their season at 3-6. Houston, seeded at number-four, improved their record to 5-4, including a 44-13 win over M-C in week two.